Wilted Flowers
by HowCouldThisHappenToMe
Summary: I could clearly remember the day Lily became my friend, and the day she vanished from my life. I was never going to allow that to happen again. Childhood-fic.
1. Luffy

**This is kind of a belated birthday-tribute to Luffy, but I posted it the day after for two reasons. 1) I wanted to avoid the rush of all the Luffy fics that would be going up yesterday and 2) May 6th is significant to the story... so, yeah, I tried to be clever about it... probably failed, but oh well. lol.**

**EDIT: I feel I must say that the grammar issues in this story are done purposely, for I fear someone may turn away simply because the grammar is not top notch (or what I usually write). The reason for that is because I have written this from Luffy's point of view as a child. So, yes, there will be a few run-on sentences (like a kid trying to fit everything he has to say in one breath) and things like that. Now that that's out of the way, on with the story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or its characters. I only have the OCs I create.**

* * *

"Why do _we_ have to get the spices, Nii-chan?" I was bored and didn't want to go shopping in town for Dadan. I wanted to go play.

"Because if we don't get the spices, the meat will go bad over the winter," Ace answered, adding a punch to the top of my head.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Ace didn't answer and only laughed instead. I crossed my arms and pouted, trying to ignore his laughs.

It was a sunny day in early autumn, and all the trees were starting to change colors. The air wasn't cold yet, so we didn't have to wear jackets or shoes. The big oak tree that marked the edge of town had already changed colors so the leaves were red and yellow and orange. It looked kinda like it was on fire, especially when the wind blew. As Ace and I were walking under the oak, I heard Ace grunt and he fell down.

"Gotcha this time, Ace!" a girl yelled. I turned around and saw Ace wrestling with a girl that looked like she was eight, like me.

"In your dreams!" Ace yelled back and turned so he was winning the fight. He had her flat on her stomach in no time at all. Ace was sitting on her with the girl's arm twisted behind her back. She struggled a little, but couldn't make him budge because she was too small.

"Alright, I give."

Ace grinned and got off her so she could stand. The girl was only a little taller than me and really skinny. How'd she knock Ace down? I looked up at the oak tree and guessed she jumped from a branch. Her hair was short and blond, and she had blue eyes. Her knees were skinned and she had some cuts on her face, and dirt smeared all over her, but she was smiling as much as Ace.

"Who're you?" I asked, looking her over.

"Luffy, this is Lily. She's my friend," Ace answered.

"And the only girl in town who's not afraid of you," she added and pushed Ace's shoulder.

Lily started walking with us into town and I found out she was actually ten. But she was so skinny and short! How was she already ten? I figured her being the same size as me wouldn't be a bad thing, though. If she wrestled with me like she did with Ace, it'd be more even.

From that day on, Lily became my Nee-chan.

* * *

It was May 6th, the day after my eleventh birthday and the day after Lily's thirteenth. I thought it was pretty cool that we had the same birthday, but we never got to spend it together. That was why we always went to see Lily on May 6th.

Me and Ace were walking to Lily's house with her presents in our pockets. We knew she was going to like them, and I couldn't wait to see what she made me. When we were almost halfway to Lily's house, we heard some people yelling and saw a bunch of kids standing in the middle of the road.

"What's going on?" Ace mumbled and started pushing his way through the kids.

I followed behind him, but I just wanted to hurry to Lily's house. Why did we have to check out what these guys were doing? When we got to the middle of the group, I was kinda glad we'd stopped after all because there was Lily and she was throwing a punch at some boy that lived in Fuschia Village. He punched her back, but she didn't fall. I was surprised because even though she was thirteen now, Lily hadn't grown much.

Ace looked really angry and his hands clenched into fists at his side. It was because Lily was all beat up from that kid from the village. She had a lot of bruises, a black eye, a split lip and her knees and elbows were all scraped up and bleeding. Lily was shaking really badly, but she still held her fists up like she was gonna keep fighting. Whatever she was fighting for, she thought it was worth it. Just like Shanks fought to save me when he gave me his straw hat.

The kid was gonna hit Lily, but Ace and I ran forward to stop him. Ace tackled the kid to the ground and I went to help Lily. She leaned almost all her weight on me; good thing she was light. Ace was sitting on the boy that hurt Lily, punching him repeatedly. He was furious. Lily tried to take a step forward, but would've fallen if I didn't keep her standing. She was still shaking a lot.

"Ace, stop it!" she yelled while Ace's fist was raised to hit the kid again. He kept it in the air and looked over his shoulder at me and Lily. Ace only got this mad when I was hurt, because he never let Lily get hurt this bad. He used to tell me I couldn't fight hard with her because she was a girl and wasn't as strong as him or me. Lily shook more and I looked over to see that she looked really tired, like she was gonna pass out or something.

"Nee-chan," I whispered, kinda worried about her. I didn't like seeing Lily looking like that. Ace hated it more and he scowled.

"You should see yourself!" he yelled, but stood up and let the kid go anyway.

"It's _her_ fault!" someone else yelled while the first boy ran away. Ace got a really dark look on his face and all the kids ran away. They were always afraid of Ace.

"I'll get 'em later," he muttered.

"I started the fight. They were saying stuff about you guys. I couldn't let them get away with it," Lily insisted.

Ace rolled his eyes and knelt down in front of her with his back facing her. Lily wrapped her arms around Ace's neck and he lifted her onto his back, putting his arms under her legs to keep her up. Lily put her head on his shoulder and she made a sound like she was hurting but didn't want us to know.

"You don't have to fight for us, Nee-chan," I said as we started walking back to Dadan's house. "We can fight for ourselves." Lily looked over at me and her eyes looked like she was still going to fight that kid.

"They won't say it when Ace is around because he can beat up the adults. Someone's gotta stop them, so it might as well be me." It was quiet for a while as we walked and the only thing I could hear were the leaves crunching under our feet on the dirt road home. Lily still looked tired and her face was pale. After a while, she said, "I left Luffy's present at home… Don't forget to pick it up for him later." And I knew she was talking mostly to Ace.

"We'll get it after we get Dadan to fix you up," he answered. He didn't sound half as tired as Lily did, even though he'd carried her all that way.

"M'kay."

She was quiet again and so were we. Lily probably wanted to sleep after fighting so hard for us, so I tried to keep especially quiet for her. It wasn't easy, but after about ten minutes, I saw Lily's arms fall from around Ace's neck and hang in front of his chest. After that, Ace had to keep hoisting her up so she wouldn't fall off and I smiled. She fell asleep on Ace's back. She probably wasn't gonna be happy when we had to wake her up, but I was glad she could rest.

Then Ace started tripping a lot, stumbling over his own feet. He started walking faster too, and I had to pick up the pace to keep up with him. And why was he tripping so much when he was looking down at his feet now anyway? All of a sudden, Ace started running up the road to Dadan's house, and I wondered why he did that if Lily was trying to sleep.

When we got to Dadan's house, Ace didn't wait for me to get inside before running where Dadan was. She looked at us like she was wondering what we were doing. I finally got to stop and catch my breath, and I saw Ace shaking. When I looked up at his face, I saw that he was crying. Why was he doing that? Ace never cried.

"Nii-chan, what's wrong?" I asked. He ignored me and still stared at Dadan. Now she looked almost sad, which was weird. What was going on?

"Tell me she's not dead, Dadan!" Ace yelled and my head snapped back to look at him. He was crying harder now. My eyes moved to Lily and she looked really pale, except where the bruises were, and she didn't look like she was hurting anymore. I burst into tears in an instant and grabbed Lily's hand. It was cold.

"Nee-chan! Nee-chan!"

* * *

Lily died that day seven years ago. She would've turned twenty yesterday if she'd lived. Just like Ace had said, we went back to her house and got what she'd made me for my eleventh birthday. She had drawn a picture of herself, Ace and me together on a piece of fabric, and then put some kind of coating on it so the ink wouldn't fade. Lily was a good artist and used to practice drawing a lot. I always kept the picture with me and had Nami sew it into my hat the first time she fixed it after fighting Buggy.

After Lily died, Ace and I still gave her the presents we made for her. Ace had used purple twine and regular twine, and twisted three pieces together to make a necklace for her. I used what was left over to make a matching bracelet. We didn't use beads or anything girly because we knew Lily didn't like that kind of stuff. We tied them on her the day she died and she was buried wearing them.

I still remembered what Ace told me after Lily's funeral. He said she was "born sick" and had something wrong with her heart. That was why she was so small and always looked younger than she was. Her heart problem stopped her from growing like a normal person. That was why I couldn't be too rough with her, as I later understood. It wasn't because she was a girl, but because her heart made her weak. That fight she was in was too much for her and her heart stopped. Ace knew she died while we were walking because she stopped breathing and he couldn't feel hear heartbeat anymore. That was why he started stumbling on the way to Dadan's house. At least, that's what he told me.

As I stared out at the sea from the figurehead of the Thousand Sunny, I kept looking down at the straw hat Shanks gave me and the picture sewn inside it. In my other hand was a purple flower I found on the last island we were on. It was kind of wilted now, but it kind of reminded me of Lily in that way. Besides, purple was her favorite color.

I always knew that Lily wouldn't have died if she didn't fight that kid seven years ago. She found for me and Ace because she felt like she had to. I knew I had to get strong after that, so my friends wouldn't feel like they had to fight for me. It was _my_ job to protect _them_.

I let the flower go and watched it drift down into the sea. Every year since Lily's death, I would bring something purple either to her grave or set it to sea. This year, it was a wilted purple flower that reminded me of her. I smiled as it hit the water.

"Happy birthday, Nee-chan."

* * *

**The End. I hope you enjoyed it. I may or may not be making this a twoshot, where the second part would be memories in Ace's POV... it all depends on if I can think of something worth-while. lol. Anyway, please R&R.**


	2. Ace

**Yeah, I decided to write one from Ace's POV after all. Personally, I think I like how this one came out a little better... probably because I was able to use an older and more mature character. Hopefully you guys like this one as well. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or its characters. I only have Lily.**

* * *

Lily was always… different. For starters, she was never afraid of me. From the first day she saw me, beating up a couple of bastards who insulted me, she didn't shy away. Kinda like Luffy, but not as hyper. She didn't run away or anything; she just stared at me and smiled.

"What're _you_ looking at?" I demanded. I was eleven and angry; I didn't have the patience to show what little manners I knew.

"You're strong," was all she said. _Well, duh_ came to mind, but I held my tongue. "My name's Lily." She stuck out her hand to shake with me, and that was when I realized just how tiny she was. She looked like she was eight, Luffy's age. Her arms and legs were like twigs, and her knees were all scraped up. I stared at her for a moment and she laughed. "Aren't you gonna tell me your name?"

"Ace," I answered automatically.

She smiled again and reached forward, grabbing my hand. Lily shook my hand more firmly than I would've expected from a girl that looked so frail. I was still trying to figure out why she wasn't afraid of me. She'd just seen me beat up a couple of grown men because they said something I didn't like, yet here she was, acting like she'd just met me on the street.

"What're _you_ staring at?" she asked with a cheeky grin and a playful tone in her voice.

"Why didn't you run away like the other kids?" Lily sat down on the ground beneath an oak tree and patted the grass next to her. I sat next to her and waited for an answer.

"Why would I run away if I'm not afraid?"

"Well, why aren't you afraid of me? Everyone else is," I answered.

"But I'm not everyone else. I'm Lily." I was surprised by her answer. I was even more surprised when she leapt from where she was sitting and tackled me to the ground. She raised her tiny fist like she was going to hit me and I grabbed them both before she got a chance to use them.

"H-Hey! What're you doing?"

Lily was laughing as she tried to push against my arms, even though we both knew she wasn't nearly as strong as I was. She was sitting on my stomach and I realized how light she was. Why the heck was she picking a fight with me? She couldn't win. I turned quickly and pinned her to the ground. I was careful not to be too rough, though, because I didn't want to hurt her too badly. Lily just continued to laugh as I held her arms to the ground beside her head.

"Alright, I give!" she yelled through her laughter. I pulled back slowly, wondering if she was crazy. Lily sat up and I watched a pained expression cross her face. She started breathing heavily and put her hand on her chest.

"Hey, are you alright?" I asked. She nodded after a moment and smiled at me again, though it looked weaker than before. "What the heck were you thinking, attacking me like that?"

"I told you, I'm not afraid of you."

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"The other kids run away because they're afraid of you. I jumped on you because I'm not."

"But why aren't you afraid of me?" I asked again. She didn't answer me before.

"Why are most people scared of you?"

"I don't know."

"Most of them think you're going to kill them," Lily answered. I shrugged; should've figured that. "But I'm not afraid to die." Well, that one was new.

"You're not?"

"Nope. I'm going to die anyway, so why should I be afraid of it?"

That answer was good enough for me at the time. I thought she was talking as though her death was far off, like she was saying everyone had to die at some point. It wasn't until later that I learned that she was talking about something completely different. A couple weeks after we met, Lily told me that she was born with something wrong with her heart. She could never remember what it was called, but always said she didn't really need to. She knew her heart didn't work right and that was why she was such a twig, and why she was so out of breath after picking that short fight with me.

It wasn't long before we started hanging out more often. It'd always start the same way, too. She'd try to tackle me to the ground and I'd always end up winning our little mock-fights, but she never stopped smiling. After Lily had told me about her heart problem, I figured it was my job to make sure nothing bad happened to her. She'd begun calling me 'Nii-chan' on occasion; I couldn't say no to that.

* * *

Lily was thirteen when it happened, when I lost her forever. It was weird, even surreal. I wasn't expecting it. I mean, you never do, but this was different. She was perfectly fine before and then... _bam_!

It was the day after her birthday, and Luffy's. They had the same birthday, but were two years apart. Luffy would never shut up about it when we were younger because he thought it was the coolest thing. We used to see each other on the day after their birthday because we never got a chance to on May 5th. I'd give my gifts to them then, and they'd exchange gifts with each other. It was never much, but it was the best three kids could do.

Luffy and I were walking to Lily's house that day. We thought it'd be like any other. We had our gifts for her stuffed into our pockets—we never wrapped anything. Luffy and I had made her a necklace and bracelet out of some purple twine, her favorite color. I could tell Luffy was excited to see Lily, if his grin and bouncing walk were anything to go by. We were almost halfway there when we saw a bunch of kids gathered in the road.

In the middle of that crowd was a battered and bruised Lily. She was bleeding, panting heavily, looked like she was going to pass out, and favoring her right leg. I was furious, seeing her so beat up. She wasn't supposed to get hurt; not that badly, at least. I didn't care who had started it. I was going to take down the bastard who'd hurt Lily like that. The next few moments are still kinda fuzzy to me. Pretty sure I beat up the kid even worse than he'd hurt Lily, until she yelled at me.

"Ace, stop it!"

My fist was in mid-air when I was snapped out of my fury by the sound of her yelling. I'd gotten used to her calling me 'Nii-chan' lately, like Luffy did. It was all I ever heard. She sounded scared, and weak. I looked over my shoulder, almost afraid of what I'd see. Would she be crying? Trembling? Unable to look at me? Had I finally scared her away, now that I no longer dreamed such a thing happening? Well, she wasn't scared, but she _was_ trembling. She looked even weaker than she had a moment ago, if that was possible. Luffy was the one that looked scared, for Lily's sake.

"You should see yourself!" I yelled. I wanted to kill the kid who put her in that state, but I just let him go. Someone else blamed Lily and I gave them a dark look. They all ran off, like the cowards they were. I'd get them later, and I said so.

"I started the fight," Lily said. I didn't want to hear it, but she went on. "They were saying stuff about you guys. I couldn't let them get away with it."

I only rolled my eyes and put her on my back so I could carry her back to the house Luffy and I lived in with Dadan. I didn't want to show Lily or my brother the fear I was really feeling. I knew Lily wasn't supposed to fight like that, had made sure Luffy would never try to fight her like that. She wasn't strong enough for that. What had she been thinking? She _knew_ her body, her heart, couldn't handle that kind of fight. I thought maybe if I didn't get her worried or worked up about anything, she'd be okay. Damn, was I ever wrong.

"I'm dying," she whispered in my ear. She was so quiet; I knew Luffy couldn't have heard her. She wouldn't have wanted him to know beforehand anyway. Lily always said she felt bad for me because I _knew_ she was living on borrowed time. I shook my head slowly. She raised her voice so Luffy could hear now. "I left Luffy's present at home… Don't forget to pick it up for him later." This was the closest thing to a 'goodbye' she'd give us. I didn't want to believe it. I could feel my throat starting to clench as I answered.

"We'll get it after we get Dadan to fix you up." We both knew Dadan couldn't fix this; nothing could. I wasn't ready to accept losing her, though. She was my imouto. I couldn't lose her yet! She agreed to my statement weakly, likely for Luffy's sake. I hated this. Lily wasn't supposed to die yet. She was only thirteen!

After about ten minutes, her arms fell from where they'd been wrapped around my neck. I knew she was gone then. Her body kept slumping back and I had to pull her back up so she wouldn't fall. I started walking faster, tripping over my feet, and I kept my head down. I couldn't let Luffy know she was dead. He had to believe Lily, _his nee-chan_, was still alive. It was stupid, but I wanted to believe that if I got her to Dadan in time, she might be okay. With tears running down my eyes, I ran as fast as I could down the dirt road, leaving Luffy behind me. He called after me, yelling at me to slow down, but I didn't; I couldn't.

When we got home, Luffy finally caught up and Dadan stared at me with a sad expression. I didn't want to see that! I wanted her to hit me and yell at me to stop crying! Call me a wuss! Anything! Just not look at me like Lily was dead on my back. Luffy looked up at me then.

"Nii-chan, what's wrong?" he asked. I didn't answer him. There were no words for how I was feeling. I'd failed to protect my friend, my little sister. The only thing I could do then was yell.

"Tell me she's not dead, Dadan!"

Luffy was devastated once he realized she had died. He didn't understand it at first, and I didn't really want to talk about it. We went that evening to get the present she made for him. It was a picture she'd drawn of the three of us together. She was always a better artist than most of the people in our village. I often wondered what she'd do with that talent had she lived.

Eventually, I had to tell Luffy what had happened to Lily. I told him at her funeral, when she was buried with the gifts we'd made for her. I told him she was born with something wrong with her heart and it made her weak. I didn't say that she should've never fought in her life, because that never stopped her. We both knew it, though.

That day, Luffy and I buried a part of us in the ground.

* * *

I was seventeen when I decided to leave Fuschia Village to begin my life as a pirate. I said my goodbyes to Luffy, Dadan and the few people in town who actually gave a damn about me. Before I left, I stopped for one final farewell beneath the oak tree that marked the edge of the village. It had always been Lily's favorite place and she was buried beneath it, with a little stone marker. I sat in front of the headstone, staring down at the roses tied together with a purple ribbon. Luffy had brought them the day before while I was making preparations to leave.

"Luffy probably told you, but I'm leaving today," I said softly. It may have sounded stupid, but Luffy and I would always talk to Lily's headstone. We liked to think she could hear us. An unseasonably cold wind picked up and I laughed. We liked to think she could answer too.

"I figured you wouldn't be too happy about it. You'd probably pick another fight with me if you could, huh?" The wind picked up again, this time warmer than before. Luffy and I used to tell ourselves it was cold when Lily was upset, and warm when she was happy. We knew it probably wasn't true, but it made _us_ feel better; like Lily was still with us.

"I'm going to become a pirate, just like I always said I would. I remember you used to say you'd join my crew once I started this journey, but I can't let you come with me." A chilled wind hit me like a slap in the face. I knew Lily wouldn't like that answer.

"I have a different job for you here. You have to stay and keep watch over Luffy. He needs you more than I do now. And that's an order from your captain," I said with a mock-authority.

There was no wind, but I saw a little red bird land on the lowest branch of the tree and chirp happily. That was probably the closest thing to a 'sign' I'd get. I looked over my shoulder and down the road, towards Dadan's house. Luffy was probably there, and I knew he wasn't too thrilled with my leaving. Lily's spirit needed to stay in Fuschia Village and watch him, since I couldn't anymore.

I tied a piece of purple twine around the lowest branch—Lily's perch to tackle me from—but the bird never moved. It just sat there and stared at my hands. After the twine was tied onto the branch, I place my hand on the smooth stone that marked Lily's grave. For a moment, I could've sworn I felt a tiny hand rest on mine. Then, as quickly as the sensation came, it disappeared. I gave a smile and adjusted the hat on my head.

"Love you too, little sister. I'll make sure to visit you again soon."

* * *

**Please R&R.**


	3. Lily

**So, yeah. I know this has been labeled as 'complete' for a while now. But I was recently listening to the song "Lucy" by Skillet and it inspired me to write a final chapter of Wilted Flowers, this one from Lily's point of view. I felt like she deserved to have her side of the story told as well. So, here is the final chapter of Wilted Flowers.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or any of its characters. I only have Lily.  
**

* * *

Is it weird that I wasn't afraid when it happened? I guess most people would be, but I wasn't. Maybe it was because I knew it would happen at any moment. My death, I mean. I wasn't afraid when I died. I wasn't happy either. I guess I was just kinda sad. But not for myself.

I was sad for Nii-chan and Luffy-chan.

It was just like any day, except it was the day after my thirteenth birthday. Me and Luffy-chan shared the same birthday, but I was two years older than him. He was already getting bigger than me by then, though. I was always small for my age, on account of being born with a sick heart. Nii-chan knew about it, but we never told Luffy. Nii-chan said he wouldn't understand and it would only make him worry. I always thought it was because Nii-chan didn't want to admit that I could actually die so young.

But anyway, it was a normal day to me. I was going to spend the day with Nii-chan and Luffy-chan, since we could never spend our birthday together. We always did it the day after. I'd left my house and was starting to walk to the old oak tree that I always tackled Nii-chan from. I was going to surprise them when they got there, but I heard some kids talking and stopped to listen to what they were saying.

"He's just a demon. That's what all the grown-ups say!" one of the boys hissed.

"Shhh! What if he hears you," a girl whispered fearfully. I quietly approached the group as they continued talking without noticing me.

"Don't be stupid. He can't hear us. Ace lives up in the mountains with his weird brother and those bandits. All of them are demons, didn't you know?"

"No he's not!" I finally yelled, interrupting their conversation. "My Nii-chan only beats up the people who piss him off. If you guys weren't all so stupid, you'd know that." The first boy who'd spoken glowered at me, but I stared right back. I wasn't afraid of him. I'd seen Nii-chan give grown-ups scarier looks.

Before I really knew what was happening, I was fighting with that boy, with all his friends surrounding us. They were throwing insults while he was throwing punches. It hurt, but I didn't give up. I had to stand up for my nii-chan. That was all there was to it. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew I shouldn't have been fighting as hard as I was. My heart wasn't made to handle that kind of work. But I didn't think about it while I was fighting.

By the time Nii-chan and Luffy-chan showed up, I was hurting. But I'd gotten some good hits on the boy who'd insulted them. The boy was about to hit me again and I braced myself for the impact that never came. Nii-chan had tackled the boy to the ground and Luffy-chan ran forward to help me stand. I was glad for it, really, because my right leg was hurting. Nii-chan was furious, I could tell. He just kept hitting the boy who'd hurt me and I was afraid he'd kill him.

"Ace, stop it!" I yelled and his hand froze mid-swing. It felt odd to say his name, rather than calling him my brother, and I could tell it had gotten to him as well. He looked back at me, his eyes scanning my body and taking in all the injuries I'd gotten.

"You should see yourself!" he snapped back. To my relief, he let the boy go and I watched as he scared all the other kids away too. "I'll get 'em later."

"I started the fight. They were saying stuff about you guys. I couldn't let them get away with it." Nii-chan rolled his eyes and knelt down so I could ride piggy-back on him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he lifted me up without any effort. It hurt a little, but I held back a whimper. I didn't want to worry them.

"You don't have to fight for us, Nee-chan," Luffy-chan said as they began walking up the path leading to their home with the mountain bandits. "We can fight for ourselves." A frown tugged at my lips as I looked down at my younger brother.

"They won't say it when Ace is around because he can beat up the adults. Someone's gotta stop them, so it might as well be me." It was silent between us for a long while, and I could feel my heart working harder to keep me alive. My chest was hurting, and it felt like it was on fire. I didn't want to worry Nii-chan, but I felt like he should know what was happening. After all, he was the more unfortunate of my two brothers because he actually knew about my sick heart.

"I'm dying," I whispered in his ear. I knew I was too quiet for Luffy-chan to hear, and that was how I wanted it. I didn't want to worry him and make him sad if I could avoid it. Nii-chan shook his head, and I knew it was because he was denying what I'd just said. I cleared my throat and raised my voice so Luffy-chan could hear me this time. "I left Luffy's present at home… Don't forget to pick it up for him later." I knew I sounded weak, but I hoped Luffy-chan wouldn't think anything of it. Maybe he'd just think I was tired.

When Ace spoke, I could tell he was trying not to get emotional. "We'll get it after we get Dadan to fix you up," he answered.

"M'kay." It was silent again, and I was sure I could feel myself slipping away from them. I didn't want to go, but I knew I couldn't avoid it. With the last ounce of energy I had, I tried to give a proper goodbye. "I love you, Nii-chan and Luffy-chan." My voice was barely more than a breath and I wasn't sure if he heard me. I hoped he did.

With those final words, my arms slipped from around Nii-chan's neck and my spirit left the weak body I'd spent thirteen years in.

* * *

He didn't know it, but I was right there with him when he died. When that stupid Marine killed him. I was standing right in front of Luffy-chan, my arms outstretched in my attempt to protect them both. It was in vain, I knew, but that didn't stop me from trying. Call it instinct. But Admiral Akainu's fist passed right through my invisible form, and then it went through Ace's solid body.

Everything had gone silent then. It was like nothing else mattered, except the fact that my nii-chan was dying. I watched in horror as his blood pooled around him and Luffy-chan, while our younger brother knelt there in shock. Nii-chan died in his arms with a smile on his lips. People called it the Will of D. I didn't care what they called it. I was too angry that Nii-chan was dead. And Luffy-chan had gone into a horrifying form of mental shock, in which he could not move or even scream anymore.

"Dammit!" a young man growled as he stood beside me. I looked up at him with teary eyes and could see the anger burning in his. Nii-chan, or his spirit, was standing beside me, watching the war continue to play out.

"I wish I could've done something," I murmured in response. The war and world around us faded away into nonexistence, leaving us standing in an empty, white void. It was the intermediate place, not Earth; not the afterlife. I recognized it from when I died.

"You've grown," Ace stated as he stared down at me. I glanced down at my body and shrugged. I still had a small form and was much shorter than him, but in death I had taken the form of what I would have grown into. I looked like I was nineteen, with long blond hair and the same innocent blue eyes I'd always had. But I was actually surprised he'd recognized me in this body.

"But not aged."

"So, I'm really dead now, huh?"

I nodded. "I wish you weren't. I always figured you'd die an old man or something, not at twenty."

"Did you look after Luffy for me?"

"Of course I did, Captain. I could never disobey your direct orders," I answered with a gentle smile. "He's made so many friends. He's got a good nakama who can take care of him."

"Good. _Someone's_ gotta look out for the little knucklehead. So, what comes next?"

"We move on. We can watch over him, but not be with him on Earth like I was before."

"Then we should probably go," Nii-chan said, surprising me greatly.

"But… aren't you worried about Luffy-chan?"

"I'm always worried him, but you said yourself that he's got a good nakama to take care of him. He'll be fine."

I nodded slowly and took a step forward, drinking in his features. He'd grown so much since we were children. He'd grown handsome and strong, and I still couldn't believe he'd actually joined me in death. I'd thought he was too strong for that. Tears stung my eyes as I suddenly threw my arms around him and he immediately returned the embrace. It felt good to be hugging the man who had become my older brother when we were only children.

"You shouldn't have died," I cried into his shoulder.

"What? You don't want me here?" he asked, his town half-teasing. I pulled away and punched his arm with a pout on my lips.

"Shut the hell up."

"I miss you too, Lily."

It was as if nothing had changed between us.

* * *

I had never been as proud as I was on this day. I found myself bouncing on the balls of my feet and grinning up at Nii-chan like a child again. He was smiling as well, just as proud as I was. Our little brother, our Luffy, had found Gol D. Roger's treasure. He'd defeated his enemies and would soon be known worldwide as the King of the Pirates. Nii-chan and I watched as our little brother grinned broadly and pulled his nakama into a group hug.

"And they all achieved their dreams," I whispered to Ace. He ruffled my hair with a chuckle.

I'd met every member of Luffy-chan's nakama at the same time he'd met them. I'd watched them grow as they traveled with them, and had even met the Klabautermann of the Merry-Go. Zoro was now known as the greatest swordsman in the world, having defeated Mihawk only a month ago. Nami had created a map of the world through their travels. Usopp was the greatest, most effective marksman in the world, and he was no longer afraid of battle. He truly was a brave warrior of the sea. Sanji had seen All Blue, and was the finest chef who could defeat every opponent he came across. The list went on. Chopper became a wonderful doctor, Robin found the Rio Poneglyph, Franky and his ship were the most durable creations I'd ever seen, and Brooke was finally reunited with Laboon the whale.

"Always knew Luffy was going to be Pirate King," Ace murmured.

"He can do anything he sets his mind to. He might get side-tracked along the way, but he'll get there."

"Of course he'll get side-tracked. He's Luffy." I giggled in response and elbowed Ace's rib.

"It looks like we don't' need to watch over him anymore. We're going to have to move on and let him go," I murmured after a minute.

"I know," Nii-chan answered somberly.

"Will you introduce me to your captain and all the nakama waiting for you?"

Ace looked down at me with a grin. "Of course, I will. Let's go."

* * *

**And that is the FINAL chapter of Lily's story. I hope you have enjoyed it in all its bittersweetness. Please R&R.  
**


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